Monrovia : Learn

Glossy, exceptionally dark red-burgundy leaves offers both textural and color contrast opportunities. An excellent alternative to grasses that offers tropical drama and bold modernistic accent. Branched stems with tiny white flowers appear above the foliage. A chameleon suited to a wide range of styles and applications. Herbaceous perennial. Full sun. Fast growth to 3 feet tall and wide.

Performance and Requirements

Light needs: Full sun

Watering Needs: Once established, needs only occasional watering.

Growth Rate: Moderate Growing

Growth Habit: Fountain

Design Information

Companion Plants

KUMUROZASA BAMBOO
Arundinaria viridi-striatus (Pleioblastus viridi-striatus)

HONG KONG ORCHID TREE
Bauhinia blakeana

PRINCESS FLOWER
Tibouchina urvilleana

XANADU CUT-LEAF PHILODENDRON
Philodendron x 'Xanadu' P.P.# 7030

BIRD OF PARADISE
Strelitzia reginae

HARDY FIBER BANANA
Musa basjoo

TROPICANNA^® GOLD CANNA
Canna indica 'Mactro' P.P.# 13809

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Design Styles: This spicy new cordyline is a natural in hot color tropical gardens when played off large green foliage plants. It is also favored by smart modern garden designers who love its unique form and color for single specimens in ground or in simple geometric containers. Give this plant a rich Asian flare in decadent glazed ceramic pots and urns. An outstanding accent for patio areas and courtyards looking for something new and different. As with all cordelines they are a staple of the true Arts & Crafts era garden and California bungalow design.

Care Information

Keep soil moist and add a controlled release fertilizer to the potting mix or garden soil. Remove dead or damaged leaves as required. In cooler climates, can be enjoyed outdoors, but move indoors before the threat of frost.

Background Information

History: This vast group is classified in the Agavaceae family with most members native to India, Australasia and Polynesia. The genus was named by French botanist, Philibert Commerson in the middle 18th century who derived it from the Greek for club, referring to the thick club-shaped root. The entire genus Cordyline is always subject to a great deal of confusion because of their similarity to both Phormium and Yucca. This is complicated by their former genus, Dracaena, Batistii, and Robinsoniana. This particular plant is a cultivar of the common New Zealand cabbage tree, C. australis, bred with C. banksii and C. pumilo. It was developed by Jark Jury and has just recently reached the world market via Anthony Tesselaar International.

Lore: In its home, the South Pacific, this plant was named cabbage tree because of its roots provided a valuable carbohydrate food source. Early missionaries actually brewed beer from it. The leaves and roots provided plentiful fibers for everything from food

Catalog Description: Glossy, exceptionally dark red-burgundy leaves offers both textural and color contrast opportunities. An excellent alternative to grasses that offers tropical drama and bold modernistic accent. Branched stems with tiny white flowers appear above the foliage. A chameleon suited to a wide range of styles and applications. Herbaceous perennial. Full sun. Fast growth to 3 feet tall and wide.